Blimey, didn't realise I'd been away so long!

Well June's been & gone and the three wise monkeys (see previous photo) have long returned from their sojourn to the south coast. A jolly time was had by all with some interesting places visited, lovely weather, catching up with rellies and copious food & drink. I managed not to have a nervous breakdown or fall out with the pensioners which is always a bonus when you're on holiday!


Yours truly arrived back home in time to take part in the gruelling 24k Garburn Trail which was promptly reduced to 16k because of the imminent arrival of snow, in June, really. It turned out not to be the disaster it first appeared and was still quite a good tester.
A chance conversation then led to an entry in a LDWA event, The Three Rings of Shap, which I can thoroughly recommend. One ring was enough for me being 18miles long, but cake & pizza at the halfway stage and rhubarb crumble with custard at the end, this is the sort of event for me!!




Little dog on Great Mell Fell, yes, she's still going strong & looking cute as ever.



Next up was the Langstrath race, a new for me. Only 4.5 miles but run in the heat of a late June evening & what a heat it was, I don't remember sweating that much for a very long time. Maybe it was the high speed trip from work to get there in time or maybe just not quite fit enough, I wonder which one? It was a tough little race but one to look forward to next year, especially now that I know the route!

In between times, there's been a lot of running going on in anticipation of the Old Crown Round on the 25th July, 22 miles 8000' of ascent, it's going to be a grueller. Hopefully there will be a squad of us from Eden Runners to egg each other on and of course there is the beer to look forward to at the end.

Oh, and I have a new girlfriend, so life's sweet again.

It'll be me one day!

At last the nightshifts are over & the hard work begins in earnest. This week, (as they say), I am mainly repeating everything twice, talking louder than normal & walking at half speed, eating my meals at odd times of the day & practising the art of budhism to have patience beyond measure. In short, I'm on holiday with my parents. Holiday is perhaps not the right word for the experience but to prevent censorship it's what I'll use to describe it. Bless 'em, don't get me wrong, I love them dearly but....it's too hot ( well the sun's shining ), where are we going to eat (there are any number of places what do you fancy), what time are you picking us up (when you're ready), I don't need the toilet (in reply to 'do you want a cup of tea') etc etc.
On the bright side, the weather is brilliant & my brother is getting a taste of what it's like living near them all the time. Only 5 more days to go....

To Hel(velyn) & back.

If I could come up with such whacky ideas for saving the planet as I do for my social life I'd probably be rich & famous by now, viz... finish 12hr nightshift then go & do Helvelyn Fell Race then go back to work for 12hr nightshift!
It's certainly been a month for new experiences, 1st time up Skiddaw by Longside Edge, 1st time mountain biking at Whinlatter, trip to the North coast of Scotland (Tongue & Durness), finding out your heart can be broken more than once & 1st time for the Helvelyn race.

It was too good a day to be wasted in bed, so an early up & down to Bram Crag Farm saw quite a crowd gathered for what promised to be a spectacular day on the hill.

While my last entry talked about the journey, today was definitely about the destination.

An incredibly steep start took us up Calf Crag & views of the route laid out before us to the summit of Helvelyn.

Strangely I managed to remember to take my camera as you can see, but the pictures do not do justice to the torture I put my body through to get there & back. At least this time I got to the half way point before the 1st finisher had crossed the line (hopefully!).

Anyway, it's done now, slightly quicker than I'd estimated & yes I will be back next year.Next race Garburn Trail, should be a doddle by comparison. As for nightshift, at least my legs won't get a chance to stiffen up!

Another year gone.

Looks like a big depression sitting over Carlisle today, which makes sense as its the last day of my holiday & it's back to work tonight.
The reason for this time off was a big bike trip to the north of Scotland, it turned out to be 850 miles in 3 days, no wonder my backside was sore.
In a previous life I was never a 'biker', it's only 3 years since I passed my test & is one of only a few regrets in my life. It's one of those I wish I'd done it sooner things, or maybe not. Perhaps it's the being older & wiser & able to enjoy it for what it is now that makes it such good fun.
Like life, the bike is about the journey not the destination & this journey took me to places of unimaginable beauty & remoteness without having to leave the Britsh Isles. On the way it was my birthday, another year cheating the grim reaper but returning with another head full of memories.

Where have all the peeps gone?

Having only fitted in a run along the river to Dalston & back since Lords Seat, I thought it time I did something else while I was off work. I've walked in the Lakes on & off for 30 years or so ( I started young, ok ), but had never been up Longside Edge as a way to get onto Skiddaw. This runs parallel to Bass Lake & looks quite spectacular from the north when you can look right along the length of it.

My aim was to run the route but it turned into more of a battle against the wind than a run with moments of airborne excitement with some of the gusts on the top. The most amazing thing apart from the views, was the complete lack of other people out on the hill. It was not until I was nearly back at the car that I met anyone else!

This is the view back along from the summit at 1030 in the morning, where are all the peeps?!
So an excellent trip out followed up by a walk round the river in the sunshine with the little dog. She decided not to bother with the big hill, good sleeping time wasted in her opinion.
To finish the day off a trip back to Keswick in the evening on the bike to do the Latrigg Fell race, not one I've done before & much harder than the 3miles 950ft would indicate. This was mainly due to everyone sprinting off at high speed at the start & muggins here trying to keep up. It didn't take long for me to drop to my usual plod & getting past by the usual people. A big thank you to Jo from Keswick for her encouraging words during the race & the other Keswick girl cheering people in at the end whose name I didn't catch and Jan whose encouragement is always welcome. A time of just over 27 minutes was more than satisfying considering & definately one to do again next year.

Racing Slicks

Well it turned out to be a poor personal showing at Lord's Seat from yours truly. The first summit, aptly named Barf, nearly saw me do just that after getting a stitch early on. Having never suffered one before in a race, it left me in agony on the descent & I never really got going. So that was that, no pb this time but there's always next year.
At least the weather is improving, a couple of good runs out on the bike already under my belt in preparation for the weekend away in Scotland. Other excitement was a brief email flirtation with a lovely local lass but love's not on the horizon, so life's back singular normality, well almost normality. The Little Dog (who's been quiet recently on this blog) has been for a haircut to rival her master, i.e. back to the wood, & now looks like a slick racing version of a spaniel! I've tried to get her picture to publish but she's not having it. If only I could get her move as quick when we're out for a walk....

Full Circle

Having run my 3rd Puma Hawkshead Trail Race in a personal best time,it occurred to me that it's a little while now since I started doing this off road running lark. Not a long time in the global scale of things but long enough for me to have run races more than once or twice so that I should know better than to run them again.
So as I stand at start of my 4th Grisedale Grind, I realise that older is definately not wiser. You see, this is where it all started, only 3 years ago, it seems like a lifetime. I'd done a bit of running, 2 half marathons & 2 ten milers in the space of 8 weeks plus the training, I'd split from my wife so had thrown myself into getting fitter as a diversion to take my mind off it. Always fancied a go at fell running after all those years of walking them. How hard could it be?
Spurred on by Richard Asquith's 'Feet in the Clouds', I entered the Grisedale Grind race. Foolishly thinking that 2.5 miles would be a reasonable introduction, surely I could manage that.
Manage it I did, what I couldn't manage was walking downstairs for the next two days which is a bit tricky when your place of work is spread over 5 storeys. Oh how my colleagues laughed.
And so here I am again, the race is a little shorter than the 1st time as the start has moved over the road but it's no less steep. I know about category A,B & C races now & L,M & S, so I know now why this is an AS race. Wish I'd known 3 yrs ago.
And then we're off, no time to contemplate life now just concentrate on putting every muscle in your body to best effect. A short run on forest track brings us to the gate out on to the fell, then it's only up for the next mile. A lung bursting 27 minutes for me, by the time I get to the top the leader has finished & is probably getting changed. A quick thank you to the summit marshall, 10 minutes down & I'm finished too. Another one completed & another PB, drive home with the biggest grin on my face imaginable and even now a week later I'm still grinning because tomorrow is Lords Seat on the other side of the road and I get to do it all over again!
Rock on.